0:40:05 Discussion. Short and sweet: Dan asks what’s the perfect length. Roy heard what he needed and then it was on to the next. Cliff wondered about the casting for spots in the demo. Miscast demos stick out more than any benefit.

0:42:10 Dan said, “You gotta wow ‘em right from the start.”

0:42:39 Chatroom question: What would you guys do to master a demo to make it sound better? Discussion follows.

0:44:55 Cliff then says, “You can process whatever you want as long as I don’t hear it.” Discussion.

0:45:56 Q: What do we mean by “range”? Discussion follows. Roy says it’s the emotions.

0:47:44 Cliff describes a TV ad that struck him because it was so well voiced.

0:48:20 Roy says we don’t want to hear “the sell,” we want warmth to be the sell, the smile to be sell. It’s too obvious when someone tries to “sell.”

0:49:18 Another commercial demo.

0:50:30 Discussion. Roy asks about the demo’s length. He’s not sure anybody would get to the last two spots. He liked the beginning, heard the range, liked the production.

0:51:10 Cliff thought the demo didn’t know when to stop. It was 1:10. Discussion. The first 15 seconds were key to the demo’s success. Cliff liked that it sounded like the voice actor’s talent and not someone else.

0:53:48 Break

0:55:02 They’re back.

0:55:57 Another demo. Commercial demo.

0:56:57 Discussion. The character in the middle broke the flow. Otherwise he liked it. Roy liked the range the character voice in the middle, but thought it might distract a casting director who’d miss the next spot. You don’t want to surprise in that way. George thought it needed a little mastering.

0:59:29 Dan asks “Should you produce your own demo?” Dan plays a demo he worked on with Roy.

1:00:13 BEFORE: Dan’s demo, original version. His voice is overwhelmed by background sounds.

1:01:15 AFTER: Dan’s demo after Uncle Roy fixed it. Voice and music blends much better. Cliff says there were subtleties that came out in the repaired version that he didn’t hear in the first version. Roy says the direction and script were good, it just needed to be mixed better.

1:04:21 Q: How long does it take to a demo? A: 3 hours to 2 months. Cliff likes to work one hour at a time, take time off (days, week), do another, and so on. Roy says you won’t get that at a “demo factory.” Roy says Cliff produces whole spots that are “demo worthy” and then pick pieces from them.

1:06:38 Cliff answers question about how many different segments should you have? A: no answer, as long as it’s entertaining and not “same-y.”

1:07:48 Roy, each session is a highly concentrated coaching session. Just because a spot aired, he needs “killer” spots to work with for a demo.

1:09:09 Dan says it’s critical to work with someone you trust. And you need to be able to reproduce what’s in your demo in a job.

1:10:09 George talks about the educational program at Edge. They’re reworking it. They’ll have a three-tier rating system for talent.

1:11:56 Cliff uses talent’s audio from home.

1:12:50 Roy has a student who went through a demo factory and was told to read to time.

1:13:27 When Cliff sends out auditions, he makes it clear NOT to time to 30. He wants to hear interpretation, not rushing to read. Roy wants to hear the acting, hear the story.

1:14:20 Roy says, “Don’t be embarrassed.” If you’re not happy, get satisfaction from the source; if not, then contact him or Cliff.

1:15:05 Cliff asks Roy if he’s dealt with updating demos with one or two new pieces.

1:16:16 Segue to Harlan Hogan ad. Harlan has the stuff you need. http://voiceoveressentials.com/

1:19:49 Next demo. Commercial.

1:20:50 Discussion. Cliff didn’t think he’s featuring his money voice. The stuff at the front is well done, but the style was common. The higher register woke Cliff up. He wants more of that.

1:22:02 Roy suggests a re-sequence.

1:22:55 Q: Do all samples need a music bed and Q: How important is music? A: Dan says it’s everything.

1:23:55 Cliff echoes that thought. Old music will make your demo sound dated.

1:24:30 Cliff also likes to hear warm reads, without music.

1:25:30 Roy and Cliff talk about music for intros to narration demos.

1:26:58 Q: What should some expect to pay for a commercial demo? A: The better you are, the cheaper it is.

0:05:00 Here we are at episode 150 since March 20, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9KjlnreVIw Dan and George want to hear from folks about what they’d like to hear about on the show.

0:06:30 If you have an audio issue, send it in and watch the guys sort it out. “Troubled Audio of the Week,” or “What’s in the Specimen Cup This Week?”

0:08:20 George asks if there’s “breaking news” to report on each week.

0:10:20 In the old days, they used to live call-ins. Should they revive this?

0:11:19 Send in feedback about roundtables and other content.

0:12:07 Next week: the Demo Demo Derby! Dan and George will be joined by Uncle Roy and Clifford to review the technical quality of demo productions.

0:12:57 Send your ideas to ewabshop@gmail.com There will be a new “specimen cup” at http://www.ewabs.net/ where you can submit your audio for technical review on the show.

0:14:47 Break

0:15:52 They’re back.

0:16:19 Whittam’s World Episode 25, with answers to mic questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjA5FLPGRS4

0:26:29 End video. George discusses more mic issues and how troubleshooting works. He recommends a backup mic.

0:30:01 Break

0:31:37 They’re back. Dan talks about websites being essential to being a voice actor. He talks about VoiceZam and introduces VoiceZam’s creator Bob Merkel.

0:32:59 Dan asks how VoiceZam works. Bob explains. VoiceZam takes the traditional demo with multiple selections presented one at a time and breaks them into separate selections on a “player.” This can help a producer who is wading through demos and short on time. VoiceZam stacks all the selections so the listener can control what they listen to. The website: http://www.voicezam.com/public/mainpage.aspx The site includes an overview video and a sample demo. Bob demonstrates how VoiceZam works.

0:38:22 VoiceZam lets producers stay longer. Each segment could be longer than in the traditional format.

0:40:42 VoiceZam also includes contact information and social media links. VoiceZam also generates statistics on how your VoiceZam is used.

0:42:32 Bob describes his newest product, StraightShot. It’s a marketing tool that works with your emails. Bob shows how it works. You get buttons in your signature area of your email for your individual demo tracks. StraightShot takes you to the voice talent’s website.

0:51:58 George shows what the email looks like at his end. And we have problems with Flash.

0:53:40 Bob calls emails with VoiceZam “marketing missiles.”

0:54:12 Let’s look at the producer’s world.

0:55:30 And now some words about our sponsor, Harlan Hogan. Tell Harlan EWABS sent you!

0:57:34 Dan asks Bob about another new product, a WordPress plugin. Write him at bob.merkel@voicezam.com for a beta copy. It drops VoiceZam into your website.

0:59:40 Q: what’s your background? A: Bob gives the answer. He created VoiceZam out of frustration as a producer.

1:00:35 Q: Can VoiceZam be put on Facebook and LinkedIn? A: Yes, on a FB business page, so contact Bob to find out how.

1:01:04 Q: Will Zamstistics let you know WHO clicked on your demo links? A: It will show starting times for clicks and when a demo gets downloaded. Bob explains how you can use a tracking code to figure out who is doing the clicking.

1:12:28 EWABS Essentials, a play list on the EWABS YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/ewabsshow.

1:13:44 Next week, the Demo Derby, with a technical review of demos. Hear what works and what doesn’t.

1:15:03 If you’d like your demo critiqued technically, send it to ewabshop@gmail.com.

1:15:19 On July 28, Rudy Gaskin will be on, talking about the Voice Acting Awards. Nominations for these awards are due July 31.

1:16:14 August 4, no show. On August 11, Dan and George will be together and the guest will be Dave Courvoisier, who will talk about his new book. During Voice2014, they will tape a show and air it in early September.

1:17:55 George thanks his dad for an “Angular Clock” from http://shop.wickeddevice.com/

1:18:40 Watch the second VU meter!

1:19:24 Thanks to sponsors.

1:19:54 Follow us on Facebook, @EWABS_show on Twitter. Like the videos on YouTube.

0:17:19 Amy Snively makes an announcement. EWABS fans can get $25 off registration. The code is EWABS. You’ll get an additional code to promote FaffCamp to your associates. They’ll get $25 their registrations and you’ll get $25 off for each person you sign up, up to $350 off. Go to http://faffcamp.com/ Amy explains FaffCamp. There are two tracks, “starting smart” and “working pro.” The agenda is set before the event, so presentations can get honed; planned but not canned. Registration goes from $375 to $449 on July 12. You can take up to six months to pay.

0:26:43 Larry Hudson asks a question: He’s set up and working, but doesn’t have a pre-amp. What’s the difference if you spend $400-500 on a pre-amp.

0:27:27 George has clients who do just fine without a pre-amp and just plugging into a Mackey board http://www.mackie.com/products/digital_recording/index.html. That’s all you need if you’re doing all your processing. Things get more interesting if you’re using ISDN. It comes down to subtle differences.

0:28:50 J.S. comments. Now there are more products on the market that work well. For gaming, where audio gets heavily processed, there’s a huge difference when you use a high-end pre-amp for when the audio starts to have issues. Game voicers use high-end gear. You can also shorten a file without getting artifact-ing at a higher level. For the average or above-average, it may not come into to play.

0:32:02 J.S. has expensive gear because he can and he likes using it.

0:32:16 Dan comments that if you don’t know what something does, you probably don’t need it. Dan uses a pre-amp for the EWABS show, but for recording, he doesn’t for the sake of keeping the audio chain simpler. Most people can’t tell the difference.

0:40:30 Shelley asks about agents sending different formats, some long, some short.

0:41:20 Debbie says in her experience if it comes from an agent, they want the entire thing recorded.

0:42:05 Larry comments. If it’s exceedingly long, he’ll ask the agent. He’ll mix up the paragraphs and not read from the top. He’ll read 1-2-3 as 2-3-1.

0:43:12 J.S. has a different experience. He did the whole thing and they did a “lift-off” of it. They just used the audition rather than recording the piece yet again. He feels that if you need a watermark, you shouldn’t work for that company. There are lots of reasons why he’d want to hear the whole thing.

0:45:57 Break

0:50:02 They’re backbackback.

0:50:47 Diana Birdsell has gotten comments from clients who say her audio sounds “overprocessed.” She uses TwistedWave, normalizes to -3, declicks, and runs an effects stack. George responds. He says it’s a good sign that they know what they’re doing and bothered to tell her. It sounds too compressed. George she could go in an uncheck the Limiter. And if it’s still a problem, uncheck the Dynamics Processor.

0:53:10 George appreciates the feedback, it’s important for him to hear when the stacks don’t work as intended.

0:54:51 Dan says everybody is different and hearing it differently. The whole point of the stack is to make it better to sound good in a crappy setting.

0:55:31 Diana is new to the 416. She’s gotten a random echo happening. Dan and George both think the Declicker is creating the problem. But she hears the issue before she processes. They invite her to drop a sample in Dan’s “specimen cup” at http://www.homevoiceoverstudio.com/, about halfway down the page.

0:56:57 Larry asks what she’s wearing. He points out his 416 picks up fabric movement.

0:57:49 Susan joins. No camera. She wonders about backups and storage. Where should she get backup gear? Dan talks about hard drives and the cloud, having 2-3 copies.

1:00:08 Anthony is a huge believer in Dept. of Redundancy Dept. He likes CrashPlan, DropBox, Carbonite, or Box.com. His wireless router died and he bought a NetGear N600, which has a USB port. You can plug a drive into it to create a home network.

1:01:50 George says there are some issues, but a Mac Airport Extreme has a port, too. You can backup at a friend’s house.

1:02:54 Steve Gonzalez uses SSD’s, solid state discs. He works off of them as they’re quicker. George says they’re expensive per gigabyte. You buy them for performance (speed) and use hard drives for off-line storage. George has all his stuff in the cloud.

1:05:05 J.S. Everyone should consider using one as a “boot drive.” He recounts his backup gear.

1:07:11 Jerry describes his backup setup. George says his system needs discipline.

1:08:23 J.S. says you can use your own FTP. Dan says the bottom line is back up in several places.

1:13:20 Thanks to Edge Studio, http://www.edgestudio.com/. The 4th weekend in August, there’s a Poker Classic to raise money for the LaFontaine lab.

1:14:17 Shelley asks if anyone from Edge is going to FaffCon? George thought David, the owner is going.

1:15:58 Walt gets harassed. Dan asks him to talk about his Studio Suit. He has it strung like curtains. He rolls them out when he needs them. And they’re all angled, there’s no parallel surfaces.

1:18:20 Gray in Asia asked about difference between a mixer and an interface. George explains they’re apples and oranges. In most cases, a mixer is useful for VO unless you’re re-routing audio. Some mixers have interfaces built in.

1:22:14 Around the Horn for plugs

1:22:27 Anthony: http://www.myaudioeditor.com/

1:23:05 Dave Smith. The iPad Air vs Mini? George: it comes down to how many pixels on the screen.

1:24:10 Debbie Irwin.

1:24:29 Edward. No plugs, his website is under construction.

1:25:12 J.S. Faux Vegas.

1:25:40 Larry: in Sept. he’s doing a webinar with John Florian for new VO’s. He’s got some Audacity training planned, too. Click on VO Heaven tab at his website for more.

1:26:26 Scott plugged his site.

1:26:37 Shelley: She’s been doing a large, interactive website. “Tales of Gigi” for a client in Bulgaria. http://www.taleswithgigi.com/

1:27:26 Steve Gonzalez: StevenGonzalesVO.com

1:27:49 Steve Tardio—now has an extra blanket from housekeeping. He’s just finished another kid’s science book, called “Alien in My Pocket.”

1:28:52 Dan: if you get a chance to see the documentary he narrates: “J Street Challenge.” http://thejstreetchallenge.com/

1:29:43 Thanks to donors! Use the donation link at EWABS.com. Clickers! Get your clickers!

1:30:33 Congratulations to Rebecca Davis again for getting the Don LaFontaine Spirit Award.

1:30:50 EWABS Essentials are growing at the YouTube Channel. (www.youtube.com/ewabsshow)

1:31:25 Bob Merkel from VoiceZam will be next week’s guest. The program has been updated!

He goes on to say it’s one of the most affordable shotgun mics around $150.

0:08:39 Dan’s mic is the CAD-E100S. It looks like a typical cardioid. It’s a super-cardioid that reflects the style of a shotgun mic. See sample at http://alturl.com/6xq26

0:09:36 If you have severe noise issues, then you can lean toward a dyanmic mic, Shure SM7B for example. See sample at http://www.fullcompass.com/product/270444.html?gclid=COihtKqnpL8CFQGmaQodWU4A_g

0:10:12 This mic is designed to be used very close.

0:10:35 Another way to solve the issue is to use a ribbon mic and using it sideways and speaking over the top of it. This is just a way to “think outside the box.”

0:12:46 Dan joins the conversation.

0:14:16 Break

0:15:46 Question from Shelley Avellino: what mic would you get, George? He has never gravitated to the most expensive mics. He loves his AT-875R.

0:17:06 George asks Dan what his “if money was no object” mic would be. Dan has them all already!

0:18:42 Happy Canada Day!

0:18:56 Tip of the Week on Normalization (video). Dan’s tip is to normalize after processing and to record as loud as you can without overmodulating.

0:24:26 George’s approach is to normalize first, doing the processing, and then normalize again.

0:24:56 George says it’s really a volume control. It’s good for minor adjustments. HJe also asks about the role RMS normalization is playings See his Whittam’s World (episode 34) about LUFs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tYNR1hjCio We could see an average RMS normalizing instead of peak normalizing. Be careful with RMS, stick with peak normalizing.

0:27:46 Break

0:29:10 They’re back with John Melley from Boston.

0:29:55 John tells the story how he got into voice-over. He quoted Woody Allen: 80 percent of success is showing up.

0:32:33 John’s tack on VO marketing.

0:33:27 Are you a commodity? What do you offer?

0:34:26 How can I get clients come to me? How to be the only guy in the room?

0:35:20 Dan asks how John does this. John talks about using your own story.

0:36:16 Part of cutting through the clutter is standing out with your product. Right Angle Marketing. Create a product that interests people at various conferences. For example, he was noticing a lot of work from dentists. How can he work with dentists? He went to a dental conference, set up a booth, and he was the only VO actor in the room.

0:39:26 Dan asks what kind of product was it. It’s an infomercial. John explains.

0:41:16 How do you find these niches? Use your own personal story as a marketing tool. He’ll send his story to prospective clients. It also triggers memories of things you’ve done that you have expertise in.

0:42:14 How can I make money now and raise my rates later? Create a product in an area you already have expertise in. Later you can refer to your body of work and charge a higher price.

0:43:46 Dan points out this creates products you can get paid for over and over.

0:44:16 There’s nobody in this business who didn’t do something else.

0:45:16 Dan asked John about sending out cards, referring to the EWABS marketing roundtable a few weeks ago. John said Thanksgiving is a good time since no one is doing it then.

0:46:31 Dan asks John about his webinar at VoiceOverXtra. It’s on July 9. http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs110/1102478472127/archive/1117689104469.html

John will go through the math of the business so you can really make money.

0:49:05 Harlan Hogan promotional message. Dan shows the HH headphones. You’ll hear yourself as you exist. They’re built to last. http://voiceoveressentials.com/content/vo-headphone.htm When you buy there, tell them EWABS sent you!

0:51:35 Questions from the chat room:

Q: where did you go to college; A: UM Amherst. He enjoyed it, but found no closure in political science.

0:54:20 Q: Yes, where there’s no competition in VO? A: the key thing is finding an audience you know about. John talks about finding your own niche. Once you have a product it should continue to work for you.

0:55:31 George talks about his wife’s experience in photography and finding a niche in that, which turned out to be men in yoga.

0:56:29 John says “Riches in niches.”

0:56:56 Q: do you see a move to USB flash drives? A: John sees mp3 but if you can package things in an interesting way, they’ll open it.

0:58:12 John knows a guy who was mailing his promotional material in a bank bag.

0:58:46 Marketing can be fun, tapping into your creativity.

0:59:28 Q: Does John sell his product online as well as at conventions? A: Yes, and he also uses endorsed mailings. He explains. It’s all about the audience.

1:01:11 George asks about bobblehead dolls. Laughs followed by a discussion. He talked about Dan Kennedy who has a series of books called “No BS Marketing.” One sample: http://alturl.com/8x7m8

1:03:46 If you do have a list, do mail all at once. You should test the list and see if it’s working. Crickets? You miss and then try again.

1:06:04 Q: Do you market just marketing services or VO coaching? A: He does some with usually local talent in person.

1:06:59 Q: How do you find the right person to contact? A: John tries to network authentically. Connect with folks naturally.

1:08:42 Q: Besides your thank-you cards what else do you use? A: Printed, hardcopy newsletter. He gets comments and work from doing that. He had Jim Palmer, a newsletter guru on his podcast. Palmer gave data comparing newsletters and email reading rates. Write about yourself, what’s going on in your world. People get caught up in characters and stories. Newsletters keeps you in front of people.

1:11:36 John loves podcasts. He uses his commute to listen. There’s a podcast by Mark Melkoff called the Carson Podcast. http://carsonpodcast.com/ On this one you hear about how standup comics prepared to get on The Tonight Show. It’s great marketing training.

1:15:09 Break. Voice 2014 featured.

1:18:17 They’re back.

1:19:09 Announcements

Thanks to the donors.

Clickers

1:21:16 Congrats to Rebekah Davis who was given the Don LaFontaine Spirit Award.

See https://plus.google.com/+GeorgeWhittam/posts/ZiaiW6P8cKM

1:22:56 EWABS Essentials is growing!

1:23:46 Next week, a fan hangout. Email ewabshop@gmail.com to get the link.